Kamala Devi Harris has a “strange” name for an American,as another with an odd name like former President Barack Hussein Obama ironically recalled on Tuesday. Kamala means lotus flower in Sanskrit, pronounced Kámala and is a very strong seal on her Indian origin, which also includes African ancestry. She wears it with pride and it is an emblem of her diverse identity, a mix rather similar to today’s United States, full of immigrants. Donald Trump tries to belittle her by calling her Kambala or Kabala but it doesn’t work because she remains firm on her upward path, which could lead her to make history.
Kamala has spent her life breaking barriers and now, at 59, she has the challenge of breaking the most important one because she could become the first woman president of the United States and the first of Asian and African-American descent. Barack was the first black man to reach the White House.
Kamala was born in Oakland, California, in a predominantly black neighborhood and he could barely walk when he was already going to civil rights demonstrations with his parents, a Jamaican economist and an Indian scientist mother who came to the United States to study at university.
When she was 7 years old her parents separated,Little Kamala and her sister Maya preserved the traditions of both cultures as they learned about Hinduism and traveled to India and also sang in a Baptist church choir. Later, their mother got a job doing cancer research in Quebec, Canada, and moved there with her daughters for several years.
At 18, Kamala decided to move to Washington to study at Howard University, considered the “African-American Harvard,” and she has always said that this has been one of the most formative experiences of her identity. To support her expenses, she worked at a McDonald’s, frying French fries at first and then at the cash register serving customers. It is estimated that one in eight Americans at some point in their lives has been an employee of this fast food chain. an experience that Kamala was always proud of and today displays it as an example of its middle-class history.
Kamala began her career as a prosecutor in San Francisco and He then won the office of Attorney General of California. Later, due to her charisma, her oratory skills and her tenacity in the fight against crime, she began campaigning to become a national senator, a seat she occupied in 2017 and from there she was a harsh critic of Trump’s management. During the pandemic she fought for benefits for the most unprotected sectors.
Low profile
He entered the presidential race in the 2020 Democratic primaries, But he quickly stepped aside when he realized that his chances were not good. and supported her rival in the primary, Joe Biden. This gesture pleased Biden who immediately considered her to be his vice president because in addition to being a friend of his son Beau and a symbol of diversity, she brought youth to the formula.
Married at 50 to attorney Doug Emhoff, his two children call her “Momala,” A mix of mom and Kamala,a blended family that was the center of attention during the convention. She is an expert cook, she likes to dance and her loud laugh is a hallmark that Trump seeks to attack, calling her “crazy.”
During his vice presidency he kept a low profile. He initially had trouble organizing his own cabinet, which had some defections, but then everything seemed to fall into place. Biden assigned him an almost impossible mission, which was to stop immigration by reducing poor conditions in the countries of origin. And that is one of Trump’s points of attack.
On the campaign trail, she recalled a family anecdote. “My mother often told me: Kamala, you could be the first to achieve many things. Make sure you’re not the last.” She has already broken several barriers in her career. And she may yet break the most important one of her life.